Congregational communicators continue collaboration

Congregational communicators continue collaboration

Front row (L to R):Sarah Baker, Communications Specialist for the St. Louis Province; Kim Westerman, Congregational Communications Coordinator; Mary Rose Noonan, CSJ, Communications Director for the Albany Province.Back row (L to R):Jenny Beatrice, Communications Director for the St. Louis Province; Pat Houlihan, CSJ, Communications Assistant for the Albany Province; Barbara Dreher, CSJ, Congregational Leadership Team; Ann L. Thompson, Communications for the St. Paul Province; Flat Fontbonne, Michaela Charleston, Communication Specialist for the St. Paul Province; Meyling Eliash-Daneshfar, Director of Communications and Public Relations for the Los Angeles Province; Carol Louise Smith, Communications Assistant and Graphic Designer for the Los Angeles Province
For more than 20 years, the communication directors from throughout our congregation have been gathering annually to share and plan. This month, they met together for the 21st time in St. Paul, Minnesota. The faces around the table may have changed over the years, but the spirit of collaboration remains the same.

Among the projects the communicators have worked on together over the past year are: creating a new congregational magazine (the first issue will debut in May!), ads in America Magazine and the National Catholic Reporter, and statements on issues ranging from the shooting in Charleston to the Syrian refugee crisis. We have also seen an increase in information and story sharing across our social media accounts and in our publications. You may notice Flat Fontbonne in the photo above. She is a fun new social media theme you may see popping up on our accounts with the hashtag #FlatFontbonne.

2015 saw the hiring of Kim Westerman as the Congregational Communications Coordinator. She has helped our leadership team communicate more effectively with our members and organized more collaboration across our various units through regular video conferences between all of the communication directors.

For the coming year, the communicators are excited to publish another issue of the congregational magazine, Carondelet. They also plan to update the information found about the congregation on Wikipedia and help to publicize a new justice-focused curriculum called “Walk with Wisdom.”

All of the communicators agreed that the past year has been a good one and they are excited to see what 2016 holds for our congregation!